Pictures of Surgery Day

I will let the pictures do the talking. It'll give you an idea as to how surgery day went. Do note that there are going to be pictures that show blood and stuff like that, so if that gives you a queasy stomach, you were warned :o)

Friday, June 29th started early in order to get to the hospital by 7. As we started the day, our nerves were there, as well as a lot of anxious thought. How humbling and comforting it was then to head to the hospital, watching the handiwork of God that morning through His sunrise. What a way to show us that if He can make the sun rise and set every single day, how much more will He care for His little lamb.

We arrived at the hospital bright and early and then waited. The hospital has been undergoing some renovations and so we were waiting in a brand new room, with very comfy chairs, as well as undersea murals painted everywhere! (hmmmm, looks like mom and dad found the 10 beer calming medicine! :o)

Still smiling!!

Just after this picture is when she exclaimed "Dad, I am high!". Although it took awhile, apparently the calming medicine was finally kicking in! The nurses howled! Oh, it was so funny!

She was quite thrilled with going into the wheelchair. That is, until she realized they were starting to push her away from us. She then started to get worried, trying to get out but because of the "10 beer" medicine, she didn't have the strength to figure how to get out.

The surgery started around 9 and went to 4. Yes, a very long time to wait. She then took forever to wake up in recovery so we didn't get to see her until 5. And once we saw her (after walking by her, not recognizing it was her on the bed), we were in awe. Her face looked so tiny!!! We got used to the birthmark very quickly but those expanders we did not. And so to us, that is the biggest change: that the expanders were gone and her face looked so little. This is when the "bloody" pictures start.

Oma and Opa Helder spent the day with us, helping us to pass the time away. Here they are, checking out Keziah's new face. 

Keziah recovered from surgery much better than last time, with no vomiting incidences this time. She was also a lot more alert. She was pretty comfortable with her thumb and her blanket (note: on her head again :o), and snuggling with mom.

Oma and Opa Gelderman came as well, again bringing some Swiss Chalet for us. Mmmm-mmmm-mmm.

Keziah had a good first night with no crying or discomfort. Actually, she did not receive any pain meds since surgery until the next morning at 10:30. That I find amazing!! She was awake a lot throughout the night, but that was to chat to anyone who would chat with her, especially the nurses as her own mother was just not in the mood to talk all night long. She was also hungry most of the night. Thankfully Aunt Karen made us some raisin bread and she enjoyed that.

Below is a close up of her wounds, with over 100 stitches holding everything closed and in place.If you look close,   If you want to look close, you will see she has an incision around her eye and into her eyebrow. Then under the gauze is the skin graft. There is also an incision down the side of her face to her ear (that darkness is not hair but birthmark still, but doesn't it look like it's her hair?). She then has quite a few incisions all in the top of her head. So once it's all healed up, she won't have many scars at all, with the most being by her skin graft. We are amazed! You can also see the drain tube behind her ear and taped to her shoulder. The gauze and drain come out on July 11th.

And just because that picture above is a bit greusome, we will end today's post with this picture below again. I will post more pictures of the following days at the hospital in a day or two.